health problems nstemming from
building-related biological and non-biological materials have been
on the rise, yet indoor air quality professionals and consumers have
lacked a starting point by which to compare bacterial and fungal
bioaerosol results in a presently unregulated industry. Until now.
“To date, the industry, both private and public, has
not been able to establish a basis by which to measure the baseline
conditions for indoor airborne bacteria and fungi,” said Alan
Wozniak, president and CEO of Pure Air Control Services. “With our
extensive environmental background and multiple disciplined
experience spanning over 500 million square feet of residential and
commercial building space, we have been able to provide bioaerosol
guidelines that are being used to determine what is normal in a home
or building environment.”
As one of about 25 Ph.D. Aerobiologists in the
world, Dr. Rajiv Sahay, Laboratory Manager for the Environmental
Diagnostics Laboratory (EDLabTM) in Clearwater, FL, has spent the
past 10 years collaborating with colleagues Dr. Monroe King, Alan
Wozniak, CIAQP, Francisco Aguirre,
CIAQP, Dr. James Kimbrough, Mark Wozniak, MBA, CIAQP and Dr. Tomas
Tamulis regarding bioaerosol issues. They collectively recognized
the importance of introducing IEQ guidelines to assist in
establishing normal background bioaerosol numbers for building
indoor environments
and thus began compiling data for this important aerobiological
exploration.
“There are many charlatans and shamans in the indoor air quality
industry today. In an unregulated industry, this can wreak havoc to
the uninformed consumer,” said Wozniak. “It was for that reason,
among others, that we felt compelled to diligently assess our
inter-relational database and provide industry guidelines.”
The Environmental Diagnostics Laboratory has gone through the steps
to become one of the elite American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA)
accredited environmental microbiology laboratories in the U.S. “Upon
establishing the laboratory, it was our intent to accumulate the
data to begin documenting realistic microbiological guidelines and
standards,” said Mr. Wozniak.
“Since it’s inception, we have invested a lot of time and money in
developing not only a
state-of-the-art microbiology laboratory, but also in developing the
proprietary inter-relational
database called Computer Assisted Air Management Program (CAAMP) by
which to compare airborne culturable bioaerosols.”
Throughout the decade-long study, more than 11,000 indoor and
outdoor bacterial and fungal
samples were taken in and around over 7,000 commercial and
residential test sites bacross the United States. The outcome of Dr.
Sahay’s study provides important normative data on culturable
bioaerosols for both fungi and bacteria that have been applied to
other sectors of business.
“Our industrial hygiene protocols and laboratory guidelines have
been utilized in many important indoor environmental quality expert
testimony cases,” said Wozniak.
Dr. Sahay’s suggested guidelines for airborne culturable bioaerosols
for indoor environmental quality are designed to help consumers, IAQ
technicians, building diagnosticians, environmental scientists and
other air quality professionals gain a better understanding with
relation to building conditions, indoor air quality and
bioaerobiology.
“Since Dr. Sahay’s indoor environmental quality presentation at last
year's AIHA conference in Anaheim, CA, hundreds of industry
professionals have requested a copy of the proposed guidelines; a
clear indicator of the need for guidelines and standardization,”
stated Mr. Wozniak.
“Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ): A 10-Year Case Study for
Industry IEQ Guidelines” is the first of many indoor air quality
studies presented by the Environmental Diagnostics Laboratory from
the data garnered over the 10-year time period.
For more information, contact the Environmental Diagnostics
Laboratory by calling (800) 422-7873 ext. 301. To obtain a copy of
Dr. Sahay’s 10-year study presentation, visit Pure Air Control
Services website at
www.pureaircontrols.com, click on the 10-year study icon and
enter the required information.
FSM
Pure Air Control Services is interdisciplinary indoor
environmental consulting firm providing IEQ consulting services to
city, county, state and federal governments,
school boards and the private sectors. They have an in-house AIHA
accredited environmental
diagnostics laboratory providing environmental
microbiology/microscopy services as well as building/HVAC system
remediation services.
